The emerging field of bioelectronic medicine seeks methods for deciphering and modulating electrophysiological activity in the body to attain therapeutic effects at target organs. Current approaches to interfacing with peripheral nerves, the central nervous system and/or muscles rely heavily on wires, creating problems for chronic use, while emerging wireless approaches lack the size scalability necessary to interrogate small-diameter nerves. Furthermore, conventional electrode-based technologies lack the capability to record from nerves with high spatial resolution or to record independently from many discrete sites within a nerve bundle.
Recent technological advances and fundamental discoveries have renewed interest in implantable systems for interfacing with the peripheral nervous system. Early clinical successes with peripheral neurostimulation devices, such as those used to treat sleep apnea or control bladder function in paraplegics have led clinicians and researchers to propose new disease targets ranging from diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis. However, currently known neurostimulation devices are generally fully external devices and unable to stimulate deep tissue, not fully implantable, or are unable to accurately stimulate a nerve without risking off-target stimulation.